Can Detoxifying Help With A Thyroid Condition?

Some people who have a thyroid condition look into a detoxification program to help “clean out” their system, and improve their overall health. Without question, a quality detoxification program can be beneficial, as it can help improve your thyroid symptoms (although initially this might not be the case), will of course clean out many of the toxins, xenohormones, and other “junk” in your body, and once the process is completed will most likely give you an overall feeling of good health.

Although I had been through numerous detoxification programs before I was diagnosed with my autoimmune thyroid condition, I initially did not begin a detoxification program when I was diagnosed with my thyroid condition, although I did dramatically change my diet. Similarly, I don’t always recommend that my patients detoxify their bodies when first following a natural thyroid treatment protocol, although I without question look at their current diet and in most cases will give recommendations to help them eat better.

On the other hand, most people really can benefit from a quality detoxification program. Just not everyone is put on such a program from the start of their protocol, although some people are, as it depends on their individual condition. Sometimes going on a detoxification program right from the start can actually do more harm than good.

Warning: Not All Detoxification Programs Are The Same

One big problem is that there are so many detoxification supplements being sold online, in health food stores, and in other retail stores, and many of them don’t do what they claim they do. This is why it’s risky to visit your local health food store and pick up any supplement that claims to “detoxify” your body. The same thing applies with purchasing supplements online. It’s difficult to know which ones really work, and to be frank, I personally went through a number of different detoxification supplements before I found one that worked well for both myself and my patients.

This isn’t to suggest that the detoxification program I use is the only good one out there, as there no doubt are other quality products out there. On the other hand, anyone who thinks they can just take a single detoxification supplement is mistaken. This is similar to what I’ve spoken about in other articles about using supplements to treat a thyroid condition, as many people think using a single thyroid support formula or thyroid booster can cure their condition, which simply isn’t true. Similarly, an effective detoxification program involves many steps.

Steps To Take During Any Detoxification Program

Step # 1: Eat Well. All of the detoxification programs I have gone through in the past involved eating a very strict diet during this time. After all, if you’re accustomed to eating a lot of refined foods, sugars, and other junk food, it doesn’t make sense to do a detoxification and still continue to eat this way. While it would be great to eliminate or greatly reduce the amount of junk food you eat for good, at the very least I would recommend eating well while performing a detoxification program. For an example of a diet you might want to follow you can read the article I wrote on “My Thyroid Diet” or “Modified Thyroid Diet”.

Step # 2: Drink Plenty Of Purified Water. You definitely don’t want to drink any sodas, juices, alcohol, or anything else other than purified water during this time. And while you always want to make sure you are well hydrated, it is even more important to make sure you drink plenty of water. The rule I like to follow is to drink at least half your weight in ounces. So for example, if you weight 150 pounds, then you would drink 75 ounces of water each day.

Step # 3: Take a Quality Detoxification Supplement. With regards to the actual “cleansing” supplement, you once again want to make sure you take a supplement that does a good job of detoxifying your body. There’s a big market for such products, and as a result you’ll find detoxification supplements being sold everywhere, from your local pharmacy, in the big box retail stores (Wal-Mart, Target, etc.), of course GNC and other nutrition and health food stores, and many other places. Once again, while there are some quality products out there, many of the supplements being sold are a complete waste of money, so please do be careful.

Step # 4: Make Sure Proper Elimination Is Taking Place. In order for any detoxification program to work, you need to make sure that you are eliminating the toxins that you are trying to clean out. This might sound like common sense, but it’s amazing how many people who begin a detoxification program remain constipated, and therefore don’t move their bowels on a regular basis. Eating healthy and taking the actual detoxifying supplement will of course help, but it still might not be enough, and you might need to take one or two other nutritional supplements or herbs to temporarily help with this.

Step # 5: Consult With A Holistic Doctor. If you’ve read other articles and blog posts on this site you probably saw this step coming. The truth is that once you have successfully gone through your very first detoxification program it’s not as important to consult with a holistic doctor, although it still isn’t a bad idea. However, if you have never been on such a program, or if you have but are trying a different type of detoxification program, then you really should consult with a holistic doctor, whether it be a naturopath, chiropractor, holistic medical doctor, or another type of natural doctor that frequently puts their patients on such programs.

Maintain Your Health With An Annual Detoxification

Once you have gone through your very first detoxification program, it’s a good idea to go through at least one of these programs each year. Some people can even benefit from detoxifying every six months. It all depends on your eating habits after the detoxification is over with, although those who think they can eat junk food all of the time and just detox a couple of times each year are not really incorporating a health lifestyle.

Sure, doing this is better than eating junk all of the time and NEVER detoxifying your body, but keep in mind that before I was diagnosed with an autoimmune thyroid disorder, I did at least one annual detoxification, and sometimes two per year. And while I probably ate healthier than most people, I still ate a decent amount of refined foods and sugars. Of course I’m not suggesting that this was the sole reason why I developed Graves’ Disease, but I’m sure it was a big contributing factor.

In summary, detoxifying your body can help to improve the function of your adrenal glands, digestive system, immune system, and other areas of your body. This in turn can not only help to restore the function of your thyroid gland , but along with eating healthy, it will also help to keep your thyroid gland in a healthy state.